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Sebastian T. Shelby
}--> Battle of Aldgate Battle of Ross Battle of Carthuer Battle of Terwilliger Battle of Thorney Legacy In the immediate aftermath of his death, the Covenant temporarily pulled away from Thorney to celebrate his death. A week-long feast was conducted throughout the entire Fleet of Righteous Purpose in Shelby's name, with Shiru ‘Nagan being elevated to the title of Fleetmaster for his achievements. This gave the Covenant the time they needed to refuel and consolidate their forces within that region of space before commencing their attack once again. However, not all of it was positive. Despite being present at the Admiral's final battle, Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree would face considerable tension from his troops over his passiveness, with some spreading rumours that he was actually afraid of facing his nemesis in single-combat. This would prove to be the final straw for many, which forced him to lead the campaign on the ground of a number of subsequent worlds to regain their trust. For the UNSC, they faced some of the hardest days since the beginning of the war. Although Thorney was saved, the Covenant sent a threatening message stating they had ninety days to evict the colony. What followed was a mass-evacuation, with the UNSC abandoning the planet without a fight. In addition, the loss of Shelby's determination meant that what remained of the fleet in the sector were suddenly hard-pressed to protect their worlds. Within ninety days of the admiral's death, eight other worlds quickly fell to the Covenant's advance, with each being defended by less than half a dozen ships or completely abandoned. Even after a more competent admiral was placed in charge, the entire region would remain one of the Covenant's primary invasion routes into human space, with colonies mounted on either side facing a significant risk of being invaded by a particularly-powerful Covenant fleet. His death would also have a significant impact on the lives and careers of others. Shipmaster 'Nagan was promoted for his accomplishments and was rewarded with command of the battlecruiser High Harbinger. It was the beginning of not only his prestigious wartime military careers but also his first of many encounters that led to him becoming one of the strongest advocates of the Human-Sangheili alliance that would follow twenty-years later. This would also be the start of Captain Shinano's career, who would go on to become Fleet Admiral of the Second Fleet as well as the Fourth Impediment of the Great Journey. Physical Attributes Appearance Personality As a child, Shelby was best described as an intelligent, if lonesome and driven, young boy. He isolated himself away from the other children because of his nobility but remained modest and humble. He quickly understood his position as a firstborn commanded no real power, so never ordered people around nor bragged about it. Instead, he knew it meant he had higher standards to meet, and wanted to achieve the goals he set himself and rarely accepted help. He made this up with his near-obsessional dedication to his studies, practising revisions from his lessons in his free time thanks to pressure from his position to do well. However, he often butted-heads with people who were lazy, unable to understand why they couldn't drive themselves to reach the average mark. This led to several confrontations in which Shelby fought against his classmates in early high school, though fortunately, he became more tolerant and calmer as time went on. He did not pursue relationships even this early, believing it to be a waste of time that could be allocated to his studies - this was also because he saw that the only ones interested romantically envied his nobility status. In fact, he rarely seemed to have fun, with the exception to his swordsman lessons which he enjoyed immensely. Out of school, he was well-mannered, mature and highly disciplined, always being a good host to visitors by politely pampering them. The only downside to this pressure and expectations from his family is that he did encounter minor anxiety which manifested itself as panic attacks during times of stress. Unlike most people, Shelby did not actually change much since his childhood. He retained a drive to try new things and his perfectionism meant that he pushed himself to always succeed at the first hurdle. Shelby spoke in a very proper, very well-calculated way with words. His accent was easily identified as being from English nobility, speaking loudly but softly in a way that still commanded attention and respect. He always included his manners and referred to people by their rank and last name, except with people he was close to in which he would refer to their first names or even nicknames, like with the command crews on his flagships. However, he could get quite bombastic when it came to his inspirational speeches, often drawing his sword and pointing it at the enemy. Skills As shown throughout his service, Shelby was a gifted tactician that was sometimes compared to the great by his men. Throughout his career, Shelby, while not an innovator himself, was quick to adopt new tactics should they prove more effective than his own, such as the implementation of Magnetic Accelerator Cannons, and continued to experiment with fleet formations and composition. Shelby was keen on always keeping the warships under his command properly supported, often luring in Covenant ships with his cruisers and using bold hit-and-run tactics to great effect. Unlike Cole, who was willing to accept ruthless statistics and abandon some colonies to protect others, Shelby was determined to fight every single battle he could, having sworn to protect every colony under his protection until they could be completely evacuated. Above all else, he was far more driven than any other commander and encouraged his ships to fight tooth-and-nail until they could no longer fight, giving him an impressive number of kills under his belt. His tactics and motivation ensured that while he saw few actual victories, each defeat saw disproportionate casualties dealt to the Covenant. While his inability to accept the futility of a situation could be seen as a weakness, the reason why he could perform such feats was another strength of Shelby - his charisma. Shelby made a great attempt to know or at least learn about every serviceman under his command and left an impression on captains who conversed with him regularly. Despite his noble-born status within an aristocracy, Shelby never distanced himself away from his crew. He frequently ate with them, listened to their life stories, answered many questions about himself and his thoughts on their situation without reserve, all with his usual well-composed dignity. For this reason, the Admiral never saw the crews of his ships as simply numbers, and the loss of each one spurred him on to rally his sailors to redouble their efforts. Unfortunately, this would come to eat away at his conscience, as each battle he fought ended with an entire world being glassed and many, many brave crew members who had chosen to follow him having lost their lives. While he bore these losses stoically, they would continue to weigh heavily on his shoulders. That said, he'd always regalvanise himself by being determined to be better prepared for the next battle, pushing himself to learn from each confrontation. He did much to prepare the UNSC's reeling forces for the later war which he knew he would not be a part of. He compiled an extensive list of observations about Covenant tactics and fleet formations for other officers to use, proposing theoretical new ship designs aimed at combating the Covenant specifically, training untested crews and fleets in new tactics, and even personally took some promising captains under his wing to prepare them for the worst that's yet to come. All of this won him many allies and admirers who supported him. Although this had few, if any combat utility given his position, Shelby was a lifelong practitioner of swordsmanship and a superb fencer. While simply a long tradition in his family, even at an advanced age Shelby maintained strict physical and mental discipline, practising and sparring to stay sharp and fit. Trained in the art by a dedicated tutor starting at a young age, the man quickly developed a hard, fast style that he made sure to change occasionally, focusing on always adapting to the changing circumstances. This made him a very hard opponent to beat and even allowed him to last a fair while in a duel against an experienced Sangheili shipmaster. He carried around a ceremonial sword everywhere he went, expensively tailored by a master swordsmith to his exacting standards. As expected, it became the most treasured object in his possession, and he used it to exaggerate his pose when giving out orders on the bridge. Vehicles List of Appearances *Survival of the Fittest **Season Seven Notes Category:UNSC Naval Personnel Category:Humans Category:Human-Covenant War Category:ZOD Characters